Summary of Comparison Between Different Import Method from Revit 2017 to 3DS Max 2017

Note: Findings are based on:

Sample Revit Project
Rendering Mode: Edged Faces

Statistics

No	Import Method	Polygon Count	Vertex Count	Missing Object (Y/N)	Correct Scale (Y/N)	Object Smoothness	Remarks
1	1st Level Import Revit	239,985	126,525	N	Y	At Level 8 Curved Object Details, objects are pretty smooth, though, not as smooth as FBX Files	Takeslonger time to import
2	2nd Level Import Revit	239,985	126,525	N	Y	At Level 8 Curved Object Details, objects are pretty smooth, though, not as smooth as FBX Files	Takes longer time to import
3	1st Level Import FBX	431,970	258,247	N	Y	Preserved really well. Same quality as Revit model	Camera offsets from Revit are not supported in 3DS Max
4	2nd Level Import FBX	431,970	258,247	N	Y	Preserved really well. Same quality as Revit model	N/A
5	Link Revit	342,904	177,094	N	Y	Smoothness is preserved. Same quality as Revit model	Takes longer time to import. Slightly higher polygon count than 1st and 2nd level Revit import
6	Link FBX	431,970	258,247	N	Y	Smoothness is preserved. Though a lot of rough edges	N/A
7	Reference Manage Links (Revit)	342,904	177,094	N	Y	Smoothness is preserved. Same quality as FBX files	Takes longer time to import. Slightly higher polygon count than 1st and 2nd level Revit import
8	Reference Manage Links (FBX)	431,970	258,247	N	Y	Smoothness is preserved. Though a lot of rough edges	N/A

Figure 1: Graph of Comparison Between Different Import Methods and Their Effect Towards Polygon and Vertex Count

Note: For 1st Level Import Revit, we found that in Revit and 3DS Max 2016 Version, there is a possible glitch which causes objects to not be imported into 3DS Max. Even though this occasion is rare, if it happens, you can either re-import the model or just import the missing object. Please refer to Revit to Unity workflow document.

Conclusion

1. 1st or 2nd Level of Import does not affect the polygon or vertex count of the object. This applies for both FBX and Revit Files.
2. Importing objects through Link Revit results in a slightly higher polygon and vertex count compared to 1st and 2nd Level of Revit Import.
3. All objects are scaled correctly and there are no missing objects observed in any import method.
4. Objects imported by link result in better objects’ smoothness.
5. Objects imported by either 1st or 2nd Level Revit Import are not as smooth compared to objects imported by link and FBX.
6. Objects imported through their Revit file take longer to import compared to FBX files.

Recommendation

Even though objects imported through their FBX files result in better quality compared to Revit files, polygon and vertex count for FBX files are twice as large compared to Revit files. Thus, importing objects to 3DS Max through their Revit files will result in a more efficient polygon and efficient count.